NARCISSUS AND THEIR CULTIVATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2634, 18 September 1923, Page 4

NARCISSUS AND THEIR CULTIVATION.

ADDRESS BY A. J. SHAILER,

F.R.H.S, A most interesting and instructive address, under the auspices of the local Horticultural Society and given in connection with Friday’s Show was delivered by Mr A. J. Shailer, F.R.H.S. “In dealing with this subject,’ said Mr Shailer, “I should like first of all to refer to the old addage ‘Narcissi will grow anywhere.’ For at least twenty years you have probably found the same old instructions for the cultivation of these beautiful spring flowers and the conclusions that one would naturally come to are: —(1) They must be easily grown; (2) Horticulture has made very little progress with these flowers; and (3) the specialists are keeping their knowledge a close secret. “I will give you, in the light of my own careful and close study, the correct method of successfully growing Narcissi for show blooms. “Site for bulbs: —I will advise that all bulbs for show purposes be planted, if possible, in the southwest corner, with shelter from south and west winds, which usually prevail in this district. “Preparation of beds : —Beds should be sft. wide (so that they can be hoed and weeded without treading on the plants) and as long as it is thought necessary. Take two sound 6xl boards each as long as the bed, and two 6xl sft. long for ends of beds. Place these in position on the ordinary level of the ground. Next remove the top seven inches of soil, and bank it up outside the board frame. To the sunken surface give a dressing as follows: lib. fresh lime, Boz. soot, 4oz. bone dust per square yard. With a good spade thoroughly dig this into the bed, breaking up the soil well. Now make the sunken surface level and next, if possible, obtain from cow pasture land, enough good turf to make a double layer of turf, placed upside-down. This will raise the bed six inches above the surrounding level, thus ensuring a perfect drainage. The bed should be prepared about the end of the present month and a crop of cabbage or other plants for transplanting before January may be sown. This will help to germinate weed seed in the soil. In January give a dressing of lime (4oz. to the square yard) and lightly fork over. Rake the surface level and proceed to plant as follows: Measure your first row, nine inches from the end of the bed, and then mark your rows 15 inches apart for each succeeding row. Allow four inches between each bulb in the row.

“Depth to Plant Bulbs in: —The safest method is to plant the bulbs according to size and variety for strong growing trumpet, Tneompnrabilis, Bnrri, and Leedsii. Set the neck of the bulb three to four inches below. Tf in doubt, be on the deep side, as this ensures a more even temperature, and will enable you to hoe over the whole bed during December, January and February, without any fear of cutting the bulbs.

“Getting Blooms for Shows: — There is no safe method of retarding a bloom which may be too early for a certain date, but a bed which is backward may be safely forced ,i good deal, by an application of nitrate of soda (Aoz to a gallon of water four weeks before show day) and again, if still backward two weeks later, always remembering that by a liberal use of lime in the making of the bed, you are safe in using nitrate of soda, the one being acid and the other anti acid.

“Picking Versus Pulling Blooms: I have seen some growers pull the blooms or flower stalks to obtain a larger stem but in my opinion this is wrong for the following reason: A bloom pulled leaves a lode right down to the base of the bulb, thus making an easy method of entrance for the worst enemies of the Narcissi, viz. Eelworm and bulb mite, therefore the blooms should be picked at ground level. “Time to pick Blooms Before a Show:- —1 have found that by leaving the trumpets to develop on the plant they grow much larger and I would advise that they be given a suitable eovei’ing and left till the day before the show. This applies to most other varieties except red cups. These with a few exceptions, are ruined for show purposes by a couple of hours of sun on them. Therefore I would advise you to pick your red cups when they begin to open and to leave them in jars in a cool place to develop, changing the water every day.

“When the Show is Over:—Do not on any account remove the foliage from your bulbs after the flowers are done. The bulbs keep on growing for about eleven weeks and during this time the growth for next year is being prepared in embryo, and as the leaves are the recognised lungs of the plant, they are very essential to ensure good blooms next season. So do not attempt to remove the old growth until it has separated frm the bulb. If the bed has been prepared as directed the bulbs may remain down for three years without any further trouble, and the best blooms will be obtained the second and third year, after which the bulbs will have so increased that they must be lifted for division. As each variety is lifted the bulbs should be placed in a sieve and the high-pressure hose turned on them until all soil and decayed scales are removed, when they should be placed in a cool place till planting time. Next season pre-

pare a new bed and proceed as before.

“Re Bulb Disease: —Eel Worm. The latest and worst pest that has attacked the daffodil is certainly the stem eelworm which did an enormous amount of damage before it was discovered as the cause of wholesale destruction of many stocks of daffodil bulbs. It was most unfortunate for the growers in this Dominion that it was not known earlier, as quantities of bulbs were sent here that contained eelworm, and most of the gardens in the Dominion where imported bulbs were planted became infested with this pest. It was not: until 1917 after the Royal Horticultural Society made a research into the cause of the disease in daffodils, that the eelworm was found to be the almost entire cause of daffodil losses, and a cure was recommended later viz., to soak the bulb in water at a temperature of 110 to 115 degrees F. for about three hours, which quite killed the eelworms in the bulbs without any noticeable harm to the bulb itself. But this leaves the question of sterilising the soil of eelworm an open question. On different lines a Mr Jardine experimented with a solution of bichloride of mercury, one part to 3,000 parts of water, in conjunction with nitrate of soda, t ounce to each gallon of water. Veij satisfactory results were obtained and he recommended it as a cure.”